Troubled Youth
by sarahkate98
Summary: Lapis has been a ward of the state since she was a young girl, and has finally caused too much trouble. She's been ordered to attend a reformatory program in the form of a summer camp called Camp Pineheart, where she'll meet some interesting characters, forge new relationships, and maybe change her life for the better. Human AU, lapidot (eventually), multichapter
1. Last Chance

**Author Notes: Ok so! This is the first chapter of my first Steven Universe fanfic :-) it's a lapidot shipfic, but explores other characters and their relationships as well. It's a human AU set in an unorthodox inpatient facility called Camp Pineheart, and all of the Steven U characters are troubled teens staying in the camp, camp counselors, camp volunteers, etc. I'd welcome any reviews, suggestions, or corrections, so give it a read and tell me what you think!**

 **EDIT: fixed some mistakes :-)**

 **my tumblr: steven-u-ficlets**

Lapis rested her cheek wearily against the cool glass of the car window, doing her best to tune out the large, chatty man in the driver's seat. He evidently wasn't getting the memo that she didn't really feel like talking, so she let out a dramatic sigh that fogged the window slightly. Mr. Smiley halted his cheerful speech on something-or-another and glanced at the silent black-haired girl out of the corner of his eye. She briefly – and rather coldly – met his gaze from underneath her lowered brows, and then returned to glaring at the passing trees. Mr. Smiley let out a brief puff of air.

"Look, Lapis. I know you don't want to go. But you have to understand, I don't have a choice anymore. I've done everything I can for you and you still insist on stirring up trouble."

Lapis rolled her eyes.

"It was either this or jail, Lapis. You know that. You heard the board."

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." Lapis mumbled.

"That's true, but you could at least pretend. Maybe with the right attitude, you could actually enjoy yourself here." Mr. Smiley suggested. Lapis said nothing, and simply shrugged, crossing her arms.

A wooden sign came into view. It read "Camp Pineheart: A Haven for Troubled Youth" in chipping forest green paint. Lapis' stomach twisted with dread and she gripped herself a bit tighter. She already hated it.

Mr. Smiley turned into a dusty parking lot and pointed the car towards a small one-story building. Lapis noticed a tall privacy fence that ran into either side of the building and extended backwards away from the parking lot. Probably to fence in the loonies she thought cynically.

The mustachioed man put the car in park, gripped the bridge of his nose, and took in a breath before turning to Lapis and speaking earnestly.

"Please, Lapis, make an effort to recover here. I'm trying as hard as I can but I can't protect you anymore if this doesn't work out. I don't want you to end up in jail at 17." Lapis softened a bit at this. Mr. Smiley had always been good to her.

"I'll…give it a chance, Mr. Smiley." What harm could it do?

Mr. Smiley beamed at the tan girl, clapping her gently on the shoulder with a large hand. "That's my girl!" He crowed as he exited the car. Lapis smiled softly, and took a deep breath to steady herself before unbuckling her seatbelt. She collected her backpack and duffle bag containing her few belongings and trailed behind the large man towards the building. They stepped into a small, unremarkable room with a reception desk, some wooden chairs around a table, and multiple potted plants scattered around the room. As she and Mr. Smiley approached the desk, the door behind the counter opened and possibly the biggest woman Lapis had ever seen stepped through it. Her hair was stunningly pink, very long, and curled naturally in big, loose ringlets. Everything about this woman was striking, bold, breathtaking. A small, chubby boy with a curly black mop on top of his head followed her.

"You must be Lapis Lazuli and Mr. Smiley! We've been expecting you." The woman gushed warmly as she rounded the desk. Lapis wondered what the point of the counter was.

"I'm Rose Quartz, but you can just call me Rose. I'm the head counsellor here at Camp Pineheart!" She explained as she extended her hand toward each of them to shake. Lapis hesitated, glanced at Mr. Smiley, and then gripped Rose's hand briefly. Rose gave her a short, reassuring nod and a smile before turning to Mr. Smiley.

Mr. Smiley shook her hand as well. "I thought we would be meeting with Ms. Diamond?"

"Ms. Diamond is more inclined towards management I'm afraid. Typically, she defers interaction with our campers to me, while she handles the paperwork and corporate workings." Rose explained. She leaned in and lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret, and added "but that's alright, I have better social skills than her anyway." She gave a sly smile and conspiratory wink before straightening up and continuing. She motioned to the boy, now standing patiently at her side.

"This is my son, Steven. He volunteers around the camp during the summer, since I and his father both work here." She brushed his hair lovingly, and the boy grinned up at her. He was charming, Lapis had to admit. She rolled her eyes at the show of affection, but she couldn't deny that they seemed very happy and secure.

"Steven, why don't you show Ms. Lazuli around while Mr. Smiley and I finalize the paperwork?" Rose suggested. The boy's face lit up.

"Sure!" He scampered back towards the door he'd entered through, calling to Lapis over his shoulder.

"C'mon Lapis, whaddya say?" He grinned at her encouragingly.

Lapis glanced nervously at Mr. Smiley, crossing her arms over her midsection once again. For some reason this felt entirely different from all the times he'd dropped her off at a foster home before. Maybe because she knew she'd be here for weeks without the ability to leave. She couldn't sneak out during the day and go to Mr. Smiley's office to tell him how much she hated her new home, or even call him to complain without the camp administrators knowing. Her beloved caseworker was the only true protector Lapis had ever known, the only person in the world who cared what became of her. Now she was walking into a gated community, separated from him by that very tall fence, and that thought thoroughly set her on edge.

Mr. Smiley met her gaze, and smiled sympathetically at the agitated girl. "I'll come back often and check on your progress." He said softly. "I'm rooting for you, Lapis." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and then ushered her after Steven into the camp.


	2. What Are You In For?

**Author's Notes: The long-awaited second chapter is finally here! I have the third chapter already almost finished as well, and I'm planning to update more regularly from here on in. Lapis doesn't meet Peridot yet in this chapter, but I promise interaction is coming soon! These first few chapters are just get the stage set and introduce a bit of backstory.**

 **I'd like to take a second to give a great big thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on the first chapter by writing reviews, following, and favoriting, and motivating me to continue with this story! HUGE thanks to all of you, I love you and hope you have a great day!**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 2!**

At first glance, the camp was nothing special. It was charming, sure, but a camp nonetheless, no doubt with cramped cabins and no privacy. She wasn't given much time alone with that thought, as Steven was chattering the second the door is closed behind them.

"So my name is Steven, but you already know that. I'm 13 years old, and I've been coming here since I was a baby." He said as the two walked down the dirt path leading away from the entrance building. Off to their left there was a big open field stretching to the edge of a forest about 300 yards away, and a building that ran along the side of the privacy fence. Steven pointed at the building.

"That's the medical center. Dr. Maheswaran works there, she's my friend's mom. Sadie is her apprentice. You'll go there sometime tonight for your physical examination once your intake papers are done."

Lapis said nothing, but nodded lethargically and gripped the straps of her duffel bag a bit tighter. There were a few campers kicking a ball around in the field, seemingly playing a small game of soccer. Well, two were playing, but a skinny, pale girl was sitting on the ground watching them and tearing at the grass.

"This is called the yard. We play games and do activities here since it's so wide open." Steven informed her. Lapis looked at him quizzically.

"We?" she asked. Did that mean Steven participated too? Steven looked elated just at the fact that Lapis had finally spoken, even though it was just one word.

"Yeah, we! I love to play games with the campers." He answered, beaming at her.

"And they don't…scare you?" she pressed, still not understanding. Steven shook his head, waving his pudgy hands.

"Of course not! I know and love every single person in this camp, they're my friends!" he crowed proudly. As if to prove his point, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the campers playing in the yard.

"Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl!" The three girls ceased their game and looked over at Steven and Lapis. They smiled upon seeing the boy waving excitedly, and started walking towards them. Lapis tensed and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wary of interaction. Her face automatically shifted to an indifferent expression, and she crossed her free arm over her middle, grasping at the fabric of the loose grey hoodie she wore. Steven seemed to pick up on her apprehension, and shot her a smile.

"Don't worry Lapis, they're all super nice. And you don't have to talk to them if you're not ready, they'll understand." He reassured just before the three girls got within earshot. Lapis watched them approach, taking a closer look at them.

They were almost a comical trio, each being so different from each other. The tallest was an African American girl with curvey hips, very big hair, and an even expression. The girl to her left was the skinny one who had been sitting in the grass. She had short, peach colored hair and a very long nose. She reminded Lapis very much of a bird, and looked more nervous than Lapis felt with the way she was clinging to the tall girl's elbow. Finally, there was a short, chubby Latina who had fluffy, waist-length hair that was dyed an almost-white lilac color. She gave off an aura of being noisy, even though she wasn't speaking at the moment.

"This is Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl." Steven repeated, gesturing first to Stone Face, then Noisy, then the bird. "Everyone, this is Lapis! She just got in."

Lapis gave a shallow nod and stared at her feet.

"Welcome to camp, Lapis. Happy to have you." Garnet greeted with a small smile. Lapis grumbled in something that vaguely sounded like thanks, but kept her unresponsive look.

"What're you in for?" Amethyst asked, twisting her baseball cap around backwards. Lapis almost laughed at how hard she was trying to look casual and cool.

"Lots of stuff." Lapis answered ambiguously, shrugging her shoulders. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, you know what I mean. The last straw, the tipping point!" She pressed with a devilish grin, seemingly wanting to get the dish on Lapis. Lapis smirked down at the short Latina.

"I got blasted on UV Blue, climbed onto the awning of the hotel downtown, and used a coat hanger on a string to steal people's luggage when their backs were turned."

Four pairs of eyes were looking at her incredulously, and Amethyst's mouth was hanging open. Lapis gave them a lazy half-smirk. Suddenly, Amethyst burst out laughing, almost in tears.

"Uh…woah" Amethyst managed, wiping her eyes. "I just wouldn't quit giving my teachers hell and got kicked out of school."

Amethyst jerked a thumb towards Pearl. "She's here because she has no social skills."

Lapis had never heard a human being squawk before, but Pearl did it somehow.

"Amethyst! That's not true!" she chastised, swatting at Amethyst's shoulder around Garnet. Amethyst dodged her hand and danced away, sticking her tongue out. Pearl looked almost cartoonishly offended and chased after her. While they squabbled, Garnet seemed entirely unconcerned and looked at Lapis with a smile.

"I'm gay." She said it so matter-of-factly that Lapis was momentarily caught off guard. Garnet continued after a moment, clearing up Lapis' confusion. "My parents thought that was a good reason for me to qualify as a 'troubled youth,' so they sent me here. Of course, Rose doesn't agree, but I'm not going to complain. Better here than home." Steven patted Garnet's arm and smiled at her.

Lapis couldn't imagine being in this girl's situation, having your parents so ashamed of who you are that they just lock you away in a camp. Lapis is momentarily grateful that she doesn't have any parents; maybe they would have been like Garnet's.

In that instant, Garnet was suddenly struck in the back of the head with the soccer ball Amethyst and Pearl had been beaning each other with. Amethyst and Pearl froze, wide-eyed, behind her, but Garnet simply smiled at Lapis.

"I need to go take care of this. It was good meeting you." She said, excusing herself. She turned calmly and began walking towards the two stunned girls, and Amethyst gave a raspy yell and began to run.

Pearl just sat down in the grass.

Lapis caught herself just before she laughed out loud.


End file.
